Busddhism was founded by Siddharta Gautama between the 4th and 5th century B.C. in the Northern part of India. The meaning of his name Siddharta in English is ‘he who has reached the goal’ (William and Ladwig, 23). Gautama is Buddha’s surname, a noble surname belonging to a royal and powerful clans in India. His surname alone depicts that he is actually noble by birth. Although Buddha’s lifespan is uncertain, experts believed that he lived from 563 B.C. until 483 B.C. (William and Ladwig, 24). Gautama Buddha was a prince who left home and his pampered life at the age of 29. He wandered all around India to seek the solution for human sufferings. Buddha finally obtained the answer while meditating under the Bodhi tree. Today, Buddhism is practiced worldwide by different races of people. Mahayana and Theravada are the two main schools of Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism believes in other contemporary deities such as Manjusri. This type of Buddhism is prevalent in countries such as China, Korea, and in Japan wherein it exists as the Zen Buddhism. On the other hand, Theravada Buddhism only believes in Buddha as the sole creator of the religion. Maitreya is the only deity accepted in Theravada. However, both schools tackle about self-liberation. Self-liberation is the process of emptying the mind of all the worries of the world, through meditation. This is also included in the Theravada Buddhist funeral rites. The Theravada funeral traditions are carefully followed by the family and everyone to ensure the good rebirth of the person and as a final homage to the dead (St. Ruth and St. Ruth, 30).
Filial Piety, Caring for the Sick
“The days and nights are flying past. Life dwindles hurriedly away. The life of mortals vanishes, like water in the tiny stream” –Buddha, Samyutta Nikaya (Nyanatiloka, 90).
The essence of Buddhism is to liberate one’s mind. The primary goal of Buddhism is to refuse all evil thoughts and to cultivate good deeds. Death and old age is inevitable; hence Buddhism acknowledges these as the part of the life process. Theravada Buddhism follows the following principles in giving a Buddhist a proper funeral in accordance with the Theravada rites. Buddhists’ has a careful attitude towards the sick. When a family member is critically ill or dying, monks and Buddhism practitioners often recommend to communicate with the patient in order to liberate their soul and free their mind from the worldly concerns before they end their lives. If people retains the negative thoughts, emotions concerning death, helping another person to cope up will also prove quite a difficult job.
Hence, death and helping one another to cope up will also be more difficult. Hence, Gautama teaches that death should be accepted as a natural phenomenon (Nyanatiloka, 33). Before the final time, the dying should reflect and meditate on their good deeds because it contains positive energy, which will lead him to the path for good reincarnation, In addition, filial piety is common amongst the Buddhist practitioners. Filial piety is the act of loving and paying respects to the dead. For people who are not Buddhist practitioners, monks recommend meditation and education about the Buddha and his Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold Path. One can liberate their minds by focusing more on the positive and negative effects of the call to the patient. Compared to other religions, Buddhism mainly follows the teachings of Siddharta Gautama and thus, all of their rituals are performed with the guidance of the monks.
The Final Moments
The final moments of a person’s life will enable the past and previous sufferings that she experienced. According to Gautama’s teachings, since death is inevitable, the mind is weakened by the possibility of becoming reincarnated into another body. “When the volitional cord is weak, powerful event in the ebbing life or of an earlier life thrusts itself forward to be recalled in one of the six senses known as the Immoral or Moral thought of act. A dying person can perceive many different things since his or her mind is in turmoil and in confusion. Symbols such as the gifts, in the act of giving and knife used for murder are called symbols of destiny or Death Signs. In order for the person to achieve a rightful rebirth when the signs are not good, family and friends and everyone else close to the dying person can do much such as lifting their spirits and making the dying person renew their beliefs to the Triple Gem.
Death
For many, death is fearsome and uncertain. It deprives the person of the ability to speak, eat and to mingle with other people. Buddhists believed that one cannot carry the material things into the afterlife. Hence, families are not advised to place jewels and ornaments and it is really not necessary to dress them with expensive clothing.
“This body will be laid on the Earth, discarded, devoid of consciousness and useless like a log of wood.” (A Guide Through Proper Buddhist Funeral, 10)
In some countries, most Buddhist families cleanse the body of their dead loved ones and dress them with care using simple clothing. This means that although the soul of the person has already taken rebirth, the corpse is still taken good care like a treasure since this is the only remaining memory of their deceased loved one. For people who are committed to donate their internal organs once they die, Buddhist monks suggests that it should be done within three hours to fulfill the death wish.
Funeral Preparations
Bereavement procedures often take a lot of preparations in some other cultures. These funeral preparations is a symbol of the family’s love for their deceased loved ones. In Buddhist funerals, monks and family members including some of the close acquaintances of the dead are often dressed in simple, white or black dress. For Chinese and Korean, it custom to wear white as a sign of mourning. Western burials are lavishly decorated with bright lights and lavishly gilded coffin carvings. Likewise, the hall or shrine wherein the body will remain for quite a while should reflect the serene and peaceful. In other religions, rich people can afford to buy caskets decorated with carvings and lavish paintings. It is also required for the family to set-up an altar that will hold the Buddha’s image above the casket. The Buddhist altar is also similar to Chinese and Japanese altars. Buddhist altars, similar to the Japanese altars are also decorated with offerings that came from family members. In addition, flowers, chants and sutras (Lakshmi, 11).
After the funeral, guests and family members must stand and offer incense sticks (joss sticks) in front of the altar whilst clasping their hands together, and bow. Furthermore, Buddhist funerals often want simplicity in everything. Speaking aloud whilst talking to someone else is prohibited because that is a sign of disrespect. There are some instances that guests are often required to remove their protective hair covering whilst the monks are reciting the dhamma or sermon. During the funeral ceremony, it is considered rude to remain sitting whilst the monks are still standing and reciting their rituals. Additionally, another sign of disrespect is when one member of the family or guests’ is seated higher than the monks; for them it is considered as rude and offensive.
The ‘rebirth’ process will begin as soon as the body dies. Buddhism do not prohibit women and men to be able display their email address on the other acct. Before the final respects, the monks will chant sutras again to ensure of good rebirth in the next life. After the chants, the casket is then sealed and each member of the family can still service their dead loved one for the last time (Nyanatiloka, 35). The funeral procession is conducted in serene silence. Special services such as the memorial offers choices for the family if they want to bury the corpse or cremate them. Although some religions are still against in cremation, Buddhism tolerates cremation. During the burial process, if the monks are not present; special robes called pamsukula are offered and presented. After cremation, depending on the wish of their loved one, they can either store the remains of the dead inside the pagodas, temples, stupas, mausoleum or either scatter it toward the sea. After the burial, in the 3rd, 4th, 49th and 100th day after the funeral, the family should be able to respect to those months and visit their remains. Furthermore, family can also set-up Sanghika Dana in the loving memory of their deceased friend and relative (A Guide Through Proper Buddhist Funeral, 24).
As a conclusion for this paper, the Theravada Buddhism respects their dead through the service that they give on their deceased members. In each practices, the Theravada sect encourages people to liberate their mind in order to advance to the next stage of life.
Works Cited
A Guide through Proper Buddhist Funeral. Selangor: Malaysian Buddhist Co-operative Society Berhard, 2014. Print.
Lakshmi, Narasu. The Essence of Buddhism. 1st Ed. New Delhi: University Library Collection, 2006. Print.
Nyanatiloka, Thera The Buddha's Path To Deliverance. Seattle: BPS Pariyatti Editions, 2002. Print.
St. Ruth, Diana, and Richard St. Ruth. Theravada Buddhism. London: Simple Guides, 2007. Print.
Williams, Paul, and Patrice Ladwig. Buddhist Funeral Cultures Of Southeast Asia And China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Print.
